SOCORRO, New Mexico (STPNS) -- One of the most significant events in Socorro County history happened about 27 miles, as the crow flies, from San Antonio in 1945.

Whether the location of the site of the first atomic bomb explosion is a matter of pride or embarrassment to county residents, no one can deny its historical significance.

On Saturday, April 4, the Trinity Site can be visited first hand during the semiannual open house from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The open house includes the site of the blast – ground zero – and the Dave MacDonald ranch house, two miles to the south, where physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer oversaw the assembly of what was referred to as the “gadget,” or the “device.”



The explosion was equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT.

Since the yield was unknown prior to that first shot, Los Alamos scientists created a pool to predict how big the explosion would be. Nobelist Enrico Fermi went so far as to be willing to bet anyone that the test would wipe out all life on Earth, with special odds on the mere destruction of the entire state of New Mexico.

The Trinity Site supposedly got its name from a discussion between physicist Robert Henderson and Major Lex Stevens.

According to Henderson (quoted in the book The Sun Rose Twice, by University of New Mexico historian Ferenc Szasz), he and Stevens were at the test site discussing the best way to haul Jumbo the 30 miles from the closest railway siding – just south of Valverde – to the test site.

“A devout Roman Catholic, Stevens observed that the railroad siding was called ‘Pope’s Siding.’ He [then] remarked that the Pope had special access to the Trinity, and that the scientists would need all the help they could get to move the 214-ton Jumbo to its proper spot.”

That’s just one explanation of the name. The other is attributed to Oppenheimer, who was heard to quote the poet John Donne; “Batter my heart, three-personed God.”

After 64 years, there is practically no trace of that blast to be seen, except for a crumbling concrete footing from the 100-foot tower – a surplus Forest Service fire watch tower – that held the bomb.

The Trinity Site is open to the public only two days each year; on the first Saturdays of April and October.

The Stallion Gate turnoff on Highway 380 is 12 miles west of San Antonio. From there it’s another 22 miles to the Trinity Site.

Socorro Tourism Director Deborah Dean said the city’s three shuttles will make the round trip for those who do not wish to make the drive.

“We’ll leave by eight and get back by noon,” Dean said. “There is limited space, so people should reserve seats.”

The shuttle fare is $1 each way.